Burrr!

 It has been so cold. What ever happened to Puxatony Phil and ‘it’s going to be a short winter this year’? I guess “they” have to cram the last cold days of winter into a shorter time making them more intense?

  I’m so cold that when I complained that my metal hips were hurting, my sister started calling me “Old Ironsides” 

This week in our Sunday school class our teacher has an option of asking, what makes you happy? I asked my husband and he said being content that we are living Christ’s teachings and doing good in the world.

So—What makes you happy?

Happiness can be tricky. It is hard to define and harder to achieve. Mary Pipher says “Neither genetics nor our external circumstances determine our happiness. Rather happiness depends on how we deal with what we are given. We develop the skills of building joy, gratitude, and meaning into every day. By learning these lessons, we cultivate emotional resilience. We have the capacity to build happiness into our lives with humor concern for others, and gratitude.

I think-- I love to create. After all we are God’s, The Great Creator’s children. We are born in His  image. We all have something we like to create, be it a new dish for our families; a smile on our children’s faces; a beautiful garden; or as another friend, a nurse, told me, working to restore good health to one of her patients.

One day, after reading my cousin’s unhappy post on Facebook, I texted my daughter, that something was wrong with me. I was generally happy in a world filled with woe.

I learned today that I am in my second adulthood. I think I’ve heard about people being in their second childhood and it didn’t seem to be a compliment. What do you suppose second adulthood means? Maybe it just means finding a better compass for happiness.

Reading the NY times last week, I learned that “Women of the age 65 to 79 are the happiest demographic in America. Look at all the older women who are running for office and heading up corporations.

 I’ve just started a new book by Mary Pipher called WOMEN ROWING NORTH Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age. So far, it’s an interesting read.

It begins with “I turned seventy this year. Women in their sixties and early seventies are crossing a border and everything interesting happens at borders.”

As spring, and a new month approach think about what makes you happy and enjoy spending some time doing that thing. And then think about what makes your neighbor, your family, your Savior, happy. Spend some quality time with them too. 

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